. >> the house is back today. that means conservative republicans who insist the wealthy keep this year's tax breaks could put the squeeze on their own party. that's the one thing president obama refuses to bend on. otherwise he says he's flexible. >> i understand, you know, people have a lot of different views. i'm willing to compromise a little bit. >> so are some republicans to save tax breaks for the middle class now and deal with the wealthy later. let's recognize reality, take care of as many people as we possibly can. >> polls show more taxpayers will blame republicans if taxes go up. that's increasing the odds of a year-end deal. >> it's a better than 50/50 chance, and there's a very good chance that we'd be able to avoid a lot of the fiscal cliff. >> behind the scenes negotiations continue today. republicans say they're waiting for the president to outline more spending cuts. the three big issues, tax rates, entitlement reform, medicare and social security, and whether to raise the debt ceiling. we're abo